Chivas USA will face the L.A. Blues on Tuesday, May 28, in the Third Round of the 100th edition of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Along with the other 15 Major League Soccer clubs participating in the tournament, the Goats will kick off the tournament at 7:30 p.m. (PT). The Blues punched their ticket to the meeting with their 5-1 rout over PDL side Ventura County Fusion last Tuesday, May 21, at Titan Stadium, in Fullerton, which will also serve as the setting for tomorrow’s single-elimination battle.

Having played in countless friendlies throughout the years, Chivas USA and the Blues are very familiar opponents, as they are separated by less than 30 miles. The sides last met in February in a preseason scrimmage at The Home Depot Center’s Field 4, in which the Goats polished off their neighbor with a 5-1 performance. Though the Blues will serve as the host side playing on their home field, the Rojiblancos have felt very much at home at Titan Stadium. It was in that same location that they defeated the Charlotte Eagles in a dramatic 2-1 victory to reach last year’s Open Cup Semifinals for the second time in club history.

As the match entered stoppage time locked in a 1-1 tie, midfielder Laurent Courtois served a deep pass into the box from the right sideline, where forward José Correa was able to knock in the game-winner by also putting the exclamation point on his two-goal performance. Should Chivas USA win on Tuesday, it will mark the third time in club history winning their opening match of the competition. With a handful of players returning from last year’s squad that made the historic Semifinals run alongside Correa and Courtois, the Rojiblancos are determined to try and replicate last year’s success.

“We’re happy to be participating in another Open Cup,” said midfielder Jorge Villafaña, who started in three matches in last year’s Cup run. “We’re preparing for tomorrow’s match and taking the competition very seriously, because it merits it and we want to win the Cup. We reached the Semifinals last year and this year we want to win it.”

For many on the squad, Tuesday’s match will be their first taste of the Open Cup, including Head Coach José Luis Sánchez Solá, who says that tomorrow’s game gives the team an opportunity to break out of their current streak and create an ascending route.

“We’re athletes and competitors and we like to win,” said Sánchez Solá. “It’s that commitment we have with ourselves, with our fans, with our families. It’s in our make-up as competitors and athletes. So we are happy to have that opportunity tomorrow.”

Last year’s squad lost in the Semifinals to eventual runner-up Seattle Sounders FC. Similarly, Chivas USA lost to the Sounders in 2010 in the club’s first-ever Semifinal appearance. Should the Red-and-White advance past the Blues, they would face the winner between the LA Galaxy and the Carolina RailHawks on Wednesday, June 12, at The Home Depot Center beginning at 7:30 p.m. (PT).